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What should I know about...

What should I know about...batteries, leaving the car off, things that we take for granted with gas engines that may leave me stranded somewhere out of ignorance about hybrids? Does anyone know who makes the batteries, and whether they are dry or wet? How much they cost when they need replacing? The Toyota Highlander schematic on their website (very good one) indicates that they will use like 10 batteries around the wheels to run the braking system and otherwise throughout the car. That will be a lot of batteries to buy someday. And can we replace just one at a time?
Seems like buying stock in any battery manufacturers who are public who make the batteries for the hybrid gas/electric car makers might be an idea worth asking our finanical advisors about.
Last question: I'm in the market to replace my good ole tight-as-a-drum, trusty '93 Accord EX at 170K, mainly because I'm traveling more by car, and want a little bigger, safer road car with more carry space. A station wagon would be wonderful too, but so far am favoring the Highlander and Escape hybrids when they come out. Would prefer to not wait till next year, but can.
Seems to me that the automobile manufacturers are definitely pursuing alternative fuel souce vehicles in a serious way, and may almost completely be making alternative vehicles in the next 10 years. Some have working fuel cell model cars now in their test labs, and are selling them to small fleet users in the orient and other places where they use mini-cars due to high gas prices.
Do you think as I do that buying a non-hybrid or a non-diesel car now would not be a good decision if you can afford to wait?
As hybrids are more and more accepted and hydrogen and other fuel source cars come out and are accepted, any car you have with a traditional gas engine that only gets 20 or so mpg around town will have little value on the resale marekts. Any comments?
I've heard that the engine in the Civic Hybrid does not stop while you're idling at a light. So it is a true hybrid like the Escape is? Maybe that's why the Escape will probably get 38 or so mpg around town. What are you owners getting on your Civic Hybrids in city driving?
Seems like the Ford Escape will be the early leader, and will be released this fall in NY/NE area, which I'm going to visit in October and could pick one up while up there maybe.
Does anyone have any thouhts on other alternatives, continuing to wait, or going with a diesel like the new Jeep Liberty is coming out with in September? It's the same diesel that VW uses in the Jetta, Golf, and probably Passat. The VX Passat diesel reviews well, but is very hard to get without going to Europe to pick one up, and is not rated but 27 mpg around town. Not enough to buy a new car for. The Jetta does not rate well with Consumer Reports, though it's diesel was great fun to drive, especially with a 5-speed stick. Smoothest transmisison I'd ever driven, and my Toyota Celica has a pretty good one itself.
No clear cut decision seems to be at hand for moi. Help!!!

What should I know about...

Wow, you ask a lot of questions - I am only considering the Ford Escape Hybrid so have done no research on the others. The battery pack, as I understand it, has 250 D-cell size rechargeable batteries in it. There are 50 packs of 5 batteries each. Don't know if they are individually replaceable, but it shouldn't matter for a long time. They will be warranted by Ford for 8 years or 100,000 miles.

What should I know about...

[quote]

Originally Posted by pmbrady

Do you think as I do that buying a non-hybrid or a non-diesel car now would not be a good decision if you can afford to wait?
As hybrids are more and more accepted and hydrogen and other fuel source cars come out and are accepted, any car you have with a traditional gas engine that only gets 20 or so mpg around town will have little value on the resale marekts. Any comments?

I think as you, if you can afford to wait for a hybrid, I would. My wife and I were planning on a Prius, but the wait has become to long and we need a car within the next couple of months. Depreciation of "regular" cars is something to think about, but I think hybrids will take some years (maybe even another 10) before they become the majority of cars.

I've heard that the engine in the Civic Hybrid does not stop while you're idling at a light. So it is a true hybrid like the Escape is? Maybe that's why the Escape will probably get 38 or so mpg around town.

The Civic Hybrid is not a full hybrid in the same sense the Escape is (and Prius is). There is a term for the type of hybrid it is (I can't remember if it is serial or parallel), but the HCH can't run on electric alone, while the escape and prius can.

What should I know about...

[quote:ad3361a3ce="pmbrady"]What should I know about...batteries, [/quote:ad3361a3ce]

The Toyota Prius has a 100,000 mile warranty on the batteries, so I wouldn't be overly concerned about replacing them soon. The battery is a nickel metal hydride battery (like your cell phone probably). It has a corrosive electrolyte in it, which might be an issue in a collision.

I suppose the Prius is vulnerable to the same problem every car has, leaving the accessories on and running the battery down. However, all you need is enough juice to crank the engine, because then the gasoline engine takes over, runs the car and charges the battery back up. As I understand it, there is an accessory battery (like other cars) in addition to the hybrid batteries.

I don't think "true hybrid" is really all that important. What's important is phenomenal gas mileage and nearly zero emissions. The Prius gas engine runs most of the time except when you're going downhill or stopped at a traffic signal.

It's hard to explain just how nice it is to drive around just barely sipping gas. The car is also so really cool in other areas that I can't help but think there will be a small army of Prius owners talking-up the car. It's the nicest car I've ever owned.